“They have to stay,” said Harrison. “These guys are government employees, used to this. I have no worries about them.”
“Very well. I’d like to see the paperwork. And you have a package for me?”
“Yes, yes. But let’s discuss the details first.”
“Did you bring the contract and the package, Porter?”
“Yes. I have it in the next room. Relax, Youssef. Just what is causing all this worry on your part? Is it me, this situation, or something else? I need to know.”
Amir sat back as if considering what to say. He was chewing on his lower lip and then flicking pieces of lint from his trousers. His expensive sweater, which probably cost more than most inhabitants of the island earned in a month, looked hot and out of place. His pumps were worn without socks. At last, he began. “I only have one shot at this, Porter. If I should fail, I’ll need a quick evacuation from Morocco. That means I leave everything behind. There’s the issue with my wife and children and their safety.”
“Nothing you’ve said gives me pause. What are you up against? I sense some obstacle.”
“No obstacle. I have to have assurances from you that my interests will be protected—in case things go wrong.”
“Sure. That’s part of the agreement.”
“Which isn’t official,” said Amir with a hint of a smile.
“Of course not. This document will never see the light of day. The President and some of our senior staff, but that’s all. It just outlines what our roles are here. Amir, am I missing something? Didn’t we iron out all this earlier?”
“Yes. Okay, I’m ready to see the agreement and the package.”
Zak had completed the doors and windows in the main living area. He headed toward the hallway that led to other rooms, including the Secretary’s bedroom, and passed Harrison, who was carrying the tan rucksack he’d brought to town and a manila envelope.
“Everything clear in the front room, sir,” Zak reported to the Secretary.
“Okay, good.”
Zak peered into what appeared to be a workroom complete with fax machine, a large copy machine, and a bank of four computers and printers. He wasn’t familiar with the phone lines and had expected them to not be landlines, but one phone had a light on, indicating use. He would have to find out who was online after he completed his check.
He finished the master and all the other support rooms, including three bathrooms and a huge walk-in closet banked in mirrored doors that was twice the size of his own apartment. A plush plum-colored leather chair was in the corner. The center of the room had a small three-foot by three foot carpeted pedestal. He noted a video camera mounted in the upper right corner with a flashing red light.
Cameras in a closet?
Remembering that the house was frequently used by a variety of guests and friends, he wouldn’t rule out anything.
Coming back to the living room, he noted the rucksack was on Amir’s side of the table, while the man was shuffling through some papers. Secretary Harrison was staring off toward the kitchen. Lyman caught his attention, and Zak nodded to both of them.
Lyman angled his head behind him, and Zak began the search of the other wing of the house, which housed additional rooms, including a video game room equipped with more machines than most arcades had.
He heard Amir speak behind him. “I will take this, study it tonight and then give you my signed copy tomorrow.”
“But,” Harrison sounded concerned.
“No worries, Porter. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here all night!”
Zak watched for Lyman to poke his head down the hall, but in the absence of that, he decided to notify Kyle of his search.
“Cleared the Secretary’s wing, living, and dining rooms,” he whispered.
“Roger that, Jell-O”
The timing was odd, but he was grateful for his LPO putting some levity into the situation.
“Stay loose but eagle eyes. Dead out here.”
“Yessir.”
The last door he knew led to the room where Amir would be staying. From the diagram he’d studied, it was also a suite, but on a less grand scale than the Secretary’s. He turned the doorknob and was faced with a pitch-black room, except for the glow from the pool below. He bent down to the left to feel for a light switch, and he heard a pop. Then several more. Something whizzed over his head, traveling down the hallway and resulting in a shattering of glass in the living room behind him. These little projectiles propelled him backward, like someone was throwing marbles at him, hitting his vest.
What the fuck?
He suddenly lost his balance, falling back into the hallway. The black room on the other side of the gaping doorway was ominously silent, but behind him, he heard footsteps and the drawing of weapons. Someone was double-checking the rooms he’d already checked, dammit. He started to point to the black room to tell them they were searching the wrong area and couldn’t feel his hand or his arm.
He heard the crackle in his ear. “Zak, you okay?”
“Nah. I’m hit, I think.” Zak felt warm liquid transcending down his cheek and the unmistakable smell of blood.
Before he could finish his sentence, Kyle was in the hallway. “Hold on there, buddy. Lyman will be with you in a minute after he gets the Secretary secure. Coop’s on his way, too.” He hopped over Zak, sheltered, and then entered the room. A series of quick repeats, a loud flash, and then the sounds of broken glass scattering began as Zak felt the strong grip on his collar pulling him down the hallway toward the living room.
Fuck, if I’m gonna need medical attention, I want Coop or T.J. Give me one of my own guys. He felt light-headed. It was getting difficult to hold his head up to see what had happened in the room. Blood was obscuring one eye. He used his right shoulder to try to wipe some of it away and wasn’t successful. The trail from his body being dragged down the white carpet was blood red. He was starting to worry about how to get all that blood out when he heard a greeting that was familiar.
“Hello, Jell-O.”
He was relieved to see Coop looking over him. His expression was flat as he examined his face.
“I can’t move my arm. Can’t feel my fingers, Coop.” Zak’s voice broke like a kid in summer camp. Coop had turned him slightly, and his hand went to his backside and down the backs of his thighs.
“Fuck, Coop. Helluva time to tell me you’re in love with me. We barely know each other.”
He thought Coop would laugh and tell him something equally disrespectful, but Coop was all business. “Hold on. We got you. Nothing life-threatening, okay? So you just concentrate on that and let me do my job.”
Distant sounds of automatic weaponry pierced the air.
I should be out there. I shouldn’t be lying down here taking a nap. But he did feel tired.
“What happened, Coop?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“They were waiting for me in the room when I opened the door.”
“Why do you say ‘they’?”
“I don’t know. Felt like someone was—”
“Coop, we gotta move him,” Kyle ordered. “We got the shooter, but we think he has friends on the outside.”
“Roger that, Kyle.”
They both lifted Zak at the shoulders and ankles until he was set down on a large flowered couch. Coop kneeled at his side.
“Zak, this is important. Did you see anyone?”
“Fuck no. It was black. I turned to find the light switch. I fuckin didn’t think to use my flashlight, and then I got hit.”
Coop spoke over him to his LPO. “Probably saved his life.”
“Okay, buddy, we’ve called for a rescue team, and as soon as we can, we’re getting you off this fuckin’ rock.” Zak knew Kyle just enough to know when he meant business he talked faster, and he was talking very fast now, but not loud.
“So there was a shooter? Just one?”
“Hell yeah, Zak. I think you scared off the other one, if there was one,
” chuckled Kyle.
“If there had been two, you’d be dead. So would the Secretary and everyone else,” added Coop.
“Where?”
“Lyman has them in the safe room. They’re okay. But we’re pulling extraction and getting him the hell out, too.”
Zak turned his face and felt the ooze of more blood covering his chin, down his neck, and into his shirt. “God, the whole side of my face is starting to heat up, Coop. I must have gotten scraped with something. I think my right eye is swollen shut.”
“I’m trying to stop the bleeding to check it out, Zak. Good news is I don’t think they hit any internal organs.”
“Where did I—” Zak felt himself get weak. Blackness moved across his remaining eye. He heard the hiss and crackling of something inside his head, and soon, all sound and light was gone.
Chapter 11
Amy was relieved her dad’s condition hadn’t left extensive damage, and his rehab consisted mostly of rest, a non-vigorous routine with a personal trainer, and some dietary choices for now.
“I think you should have Marlene move in, Dad.”
“Oh, Amy.” His skin color had normalized. The nurses were talking about getting him up out of bed and trying some limited walking. It would be going on the second day after his heart attack without any signs of it returning.
“I think it would be wonderful if she stayed and could help take care of you.”
“I’m not a goddamned invalid,” Allister Dobson pouted.
It was another sign he was mending. He had a great sense of humor, and that had come back first. But the stubbornness was returning, too, which meant he was frustrated being constrained by anything.
“Dad, come on. You won’t be able to do the things you used to do for a while. You’ll have a nurse for part of the day, but what about the rest of the time? You could injure yourself. God forbid, you have another heart attack and you’re all alone and can’t get help.”
“I don’t want to be coddled along, nursed by my girlfriend. She’s not my nurse. She doesn’t have to take care of me.”
“But she wants to, Dad. I’ve spoken with her.”
“You have no right to offer my place to her.” She could see her father was becoming agitated, and that worried Amy.
“I didn’t offer it. She’s come over a couple of times to check on me. We’ve had lunch together once there in the kitchen. Dad, she really wants to help. Let her do that, won’t you?”
Chief Dobson crossed his arms and didn’t look Amy in the eye.
She leaned over, kissed him, and squeezed his left hand. “Just think about it. She wants to help because she cares about you. Really cares about you.”
“Amy, I don’t want to be anybody’s burden.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You are far from a burden.” She could see his stubbornness was stronger than hers because she was worried about him getting too agitated, and he wasn’t. She decided to pull out her last card. “Dad, if you don’t, I won’t be able to go back down to San Diego. I’ll be required here. I can’t just leave you all alone. I won’t do that. You wouldn’t do that for me.”
“I’ll consider it,” he mumbled. “How long are you staying here?”
“That all depends on you, Dad. You going to follow doctor’s orders or be stubborn?”
Amy’s cell phone rang.
“I’m looking for Amy Chambers.”
“This is she.”
“This is Chief Petty Officer Collins. We haven’t met yet, but I work with the guys on Kyle’s Team.”
“Is something wrong?”
Amy’s father winced, holding his breath. The two of them locked eyes.
“I’m afraid Zak’s been injured a few hours ago off the North African coast. He’s been treated at a military facility in Morocco, but he’s being airlifted to Germany.”
“Oh my God!” Amy started to shake, taking a seat next to her dad’s hospital bed. Her father buzzed his nurse’s station alarm.
“He’s alive, and he’s going to recover. These weren’t life-threatening injuries, but until we know more, I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of detail. I’m just letting you know.”
One of the floor nurses came into the room. Her father whispered to her while Amy was occupied.
“Should I arrange to meet him in Germany?”
“Let’s wait. Normally, we let them call you themselves. It’s just that he’s had a surgery and will be having more.” He hesitated. “Kyle and the guys are kinda busy right now, and when he’s available, I’ll have him call you, too. Just wanted you to know and to know we’ll update you just as soon as we have more to tell you. And we’ll continue to do that, too, until Zak can call himself.”
Amy couldn’t think of anything to say and knew she’d have a ton of questions. She looked down at the phone. “Is this the number I can call you back on?”
“Yes, ma’am. And trust me, as soon as either Zak or Kyle or one of the guys can, I’ll make sure they call you first thing, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You might get in touch with Christy Lansdowne this afternoon. She can help you a lot. She’s been through this a bunch of times.”
“I’m up north in Santa Rosa. My father’s had a heart attack.”
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. Well, you’ll want to be up there with your family, then. That’s probably the best thing right now, anyway. But be sure to reach out to your LPO’s wife.”
“Mr.—Chief Petty Officer Collins, was it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What is the extent of his injuries?”
“I don’t know the severity of it, but I believe he was shot in the thigh, his shoulder, and—his face received some injury. I’m not sure exactly sure what that means.”
“But he’s expected to recover. He’s not critical.”
“Oh no, Amy. Don’t worry about that. He’s coming home. I just don’t know all the details yet. Once we do, we can be of more service, okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want me to have anyone else call you?”
“No.” She thought about her father, who was waiting anxiously to find out the news. “Maybe there is someone you can have call. Armando’s wife, Gina? Could you have her give me a call?”
“Well, I can’t guarantee that since she’s a spouse, and Armando is still on the mission, but let me see what I can do. I’m going to wait to hear from Kyle before I tackle that. And I’d tell Christy, also.”
Amy began to babble. She apologized and hung up, clinging to the words, ‘It’s not life-threatening.’
Chapter 12
Zak heard sharp electronic hissing sounds at first and then someone calling his name and trying to move him. He didn’t want to move. His body hurt in several places, like he’d fallen off a building. But his head hurt most of all.
More muffled sounds came from the room that was cold and bright as hell. A strong aftertaste lingered in his mouth, and his lips were parched. Someone was doing something to his arm. His name was called again. Finally, someone with horribly bad breath rudely pushed their face into his and tried to open his eyes. Or rather, one eye. A heavy bandage covered the other one. The puffy cheeked man had huge pores and red skin. Zak wanted to tell him to get off him and let him breathe.
“Zak, you’re here in the hospital, and we’ve just completed a fairly extensive surgery, setting bones and working on your face. I need you to wake up. Can you do that, buddy?”
I’m not your fucking buddy. Get your ugly face outta my space. Did he say hospital?
His eyelid was swollen. When the guy pulled it back again, it hurt.
“Ouch!” Zak shouted, surprised at the strength of his own voice. He had a mind to reach out and grab the guy by his collar. He tried to lick his lips, but his tongue was stiff like shoe leather. He felt swelling on the right side of his face, extending from just under his eye all the way to his mouth, which was cracked and pulsing in pain.
“Yeah, I know i
t hurts. You’ll be tender there, but I need you awake.”
Zak’s vision was blurry. He felt like his mouth had been stuffed with cotton that sucked all the spit out of him. His tongue was stuck to his top palate. He dislodged it and swallowed. That hurt, too.
“Son of a bitch,” he said, sounding like the cotton was still there. “Wha? Wha happened? Where the fuck am I?”
“Well, you were flown here early this morning. You remember being on the island, yes?”
“Fuckin A.”
“Okay, and you remember being shot? In the house?”
Oh yeah. He’d thought they were marbles. He was thanking his lucky stars for the vest when he discovered he was bleeding. Coop was there…
“You were flown here to Germany. You’re at Landstuhl,” the voice said. “I’m Dr. Mavis. You’re going to be our guest for awhile.”
There was only thing Zak wanted to know. He couldn’t feel his legs or his right arm. “Did you cut anything off?”
“No, Special Operator Chambers, just your clothes. But that doesn’t mean you weren’t severely injured, son.”
Zak was again having a hard time focusing. “So what’s wrong with me? You guys drop me out of a helicopter in the desert somewhere? That’s how I feel.”
Dr. Mavis sat down on the edge of the bed. His voice was gentler as they heard someone in the hallway screaming and swearing at the top of his lungs.
“Zak,” the doctor said as he pressed his hand against his left shoulder. “You were shot in the leg, which shattered the bone there, so you’ve had some surgery to repair that. You won’t feel that leg for a while. Your arm wasn’t hurt as bad, but you did require a pin in one of the lower bones.”
Zak knew there was something else the man didn’t want to tell him.
“And?”
“Well, it’s the injury to your face that I’m most concerned about. The round must have ricocheted because we think it was a fragment that caught you right at the arch of your right eye; we call it the zygomatic arch. That bone was shattered. It tore a big hole there that’ll need some skin grafting later on. We’ll have to do some reconstructive surgery to your face.” He touched him again on the shoulder before he stood beside the bed and folded his hands in front of him. “We aren’t sure if we can save your right eye.”
True Blue SEALs: Zak (True Navy Blue #1) Page 16
